[CAUT] professor tuning variables

[Richard Brekne]

    "I've long suspected that the impossibility of meeting everyone's
    requests for something different in temperament and pitch is what
    was originally responsible for the shift to ET and a nominally
    standard pitch. Administrative streamlining."

Tuning requirements follow closely the development in composition. Its 
got nothing to do with streamlining. At some point in the last century 
however it started to dawn on some folks that perhaps tuning for period 
music in temperaments that were common for the day was an good idea. 
What resistance this relatively new idea has met (which seems 
increasingly weaker and more difficult to justify for each passing day) 
has been probably more a matter of ignorance, laziness and old fashioned 
just plain being set in ones ways then anything else.  Setting a new 
temperament for any given concert is less of a job then your average 
pitch shift from 440-442 and back again. And for the record.... there is 
no nominally standard pitch evident in the world today.  Much of the US 
operates at 440, much of Europe at 442, a significant part of Europe 444 
and some orchestras require 445. Japan is also split. //
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    "If not for ETDs, it wouldn't be an option today. How about a show
    of hands for those offering a plethora of alternative temperaments
    tuned aurally."


This is just plain wrong.  There are lots of folks out there who have 
provided aural instructions for UET's for quite some time now.  And as 
it turns out... ET is the most difficult by far to become accomplished 
at.  If any tuner doesn't know how aurally set a couple UET's its only 
because they haven't bothered to try.  As for how large an UET 
repertoire anyone has... well historically (until more recent history) 
there was a reason to have more then one or two bearing schemes.  As for 
myself,  I do three UET's aurally now. I found in the end I didn't 
really get the same result musically always using and ETD. Harpsichord 
players have as a rule several UET's in their bag of tricks.  Anyone 
wanting to learn a few new tricks can easily hunt this stuff down.

To each their own as it were.  Personally, I find it to be excellent PR 
to be able to execute an UET and be reasonably well versed in 
tempermenalila as it were. Just another tool to keep in ones bag.

Cheers
RicB


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